Staple-driving mechanism for brush-making machines



Sept. Il, 1923;

c. E. FISHER STAPLE DRIVING MECHANISM FOR BRUSH MAKING MACHINES 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed March 22 Sept. 11, 1923.

C. E. FISHER STAPLE DRIVING MECHNISM FOR BRUSH MAKING MACHINES Original Filed March 22 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 l vwentoz Sept. Il, 192.3. 1,467,365

n c. E. FISHER STAPLE DRIVING MECHANISM FOR BRUSH MAKING MACHINES Original Filed March 22 1920 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Sept. 11, 1923.

`CHARLES E. FISHER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND,

A SSIGNOR TO THE FISHER AUTO- MATIC BRUSH MACHINE COMPANY, A FIRM COMPOSED OF CHARLES E. 'FISHER AND EDWIN ROLKER.

STAPLE-DRIVING MECHANISM FOR BRUSH-MAKING MACHINES.

Original application filed March 22, 1920, Serial No. 367,816. Divided and this application led September 20, 1920.

T 0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. FISHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Staple-Driving Mechanism for Brush-Making Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in brush-making machines ofthe type illustrated in patent to Young, No. 578,907', dated March 16, 1897, and particularly to means for forming the tufts and stapling them to brush blocks. In my co-pending application Serial No. 367,816, tiled March 22, 1920, ot which this application is a division, I have shown and described in detail novel mechanism for collect-ing wisps of liber from a magazine. and carrying the wisps into position to be acted upon by the stapling mechanism which constitutes the subject of the present invent-ion.

In machines of this character, a wispgathering bar, having a notch to receive a wisp ot fiber, moves constantly. back and forth between a fiber magazine and the sta.- pling mechanism and carries wisps ot' fiber from the magazine into position to be formed into tufts and applied to the brush blocks by the staplino mechanism.

In the machine of the Young patent above mentioned, the stapling mechanism comprises upper and lower vertically movable slides, the former carrying a rod for driving the staples and the latter carrying parallel guides for said rod, which also serve to carry the staples and the tufts to the brush block. The slides are connected to oneI another through devices which cause them to travel together during the first part of the downward stroke and to move relatively to one another during the last part of the stroke, in order that. the upper slide may continue its movement, to drive the staple, after the guides on the lower slide have engaged the brush block and positioned a staple over a hole in the block. Each of said slidesl in the patent referred to has a movement ot definite length at each stroke, and in order that said parallel guides may both engage the brush blocksl when the lat-ter are arranged at an angle to the horizontal, the guides are movable relatively to one another Serial No. 411,416.

4 and to the lower slide, and they have a spring connection with the latter, which causes the guides to yieldingly engage the blocks and compensates for variations in the thickness of the blocks. l

The spring connections referred to be- Ais arranged in an inclined position, when the stapling devices descend, the one of said guides which is first arrested by engagement with the block will, through the wrist-plate, cause the other guide to be quickly thrown into engagement with the block. In order to provide for blocks which may be thicker than the standard blocks, or which may have high parts on the backs which raise the faces of the blocks above the normal heights of the blocks when resting upon their support, I provide a yielding part in the connections between the upper and lower slides whereby the travel of the lower slide may be shortened without. injury to the apparatus. "Ihus, in the present apparatus, the staple guides are positively driven by the lower slide, but the travel of the latter slide is variable according to the thickness of the brush block.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the tutting mechanism of a brush-making machine, illustrat-ing my improvements, the tutt-inserting devices being in their upper positions;

tig. 2 is asimilar view, showing the tuftinserting devices in their lower positions;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of F ig. 1;

ig, 4 is a front elevation of the vertically movable, staple-forming and applying guides;

Fig. 5 is a central vertical section through the same;

Fig; 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. I

4; and,

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawing. A indicates a part of the supporting frame upon which the tufting mechanism is mounted. Fpon the frame is arranged a magazine 1. i'or containing the loose fibers or bristles 2. which are all cutv to the same length and arranged parallel in the magazine. These fibers or bristles are. pressed downward b v a follower l. and the central portion of thi` column of fibers rests upon a sliding bar l, which is provided with a notch n, Jfor gathering wisps of tilicr from the magazine and conveying them to the stapling mechanism.

The sliding bar B is moved back and forth b v means of a link 4, Fig. l. which is connected to a lever 5. which is rocked by a cam wheel 6, mounted upon a driving shaft 7, these operating parts being indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

As the bar moves to the left.. in Figs. 1 and 2. the notch n is carried beneath the magazine and a wisp of fibers gethers inl the notch. The bar then moves to the right and this wisp, with its ends projecting laterally from the bar, between upper and lower stationary guides 8 and 9, is carried into position to be doubled into a tuft and applied to the brush-block by the stapling mechanism.

The mechanism for doubling the wisps to form tut'ts'and for applying the tufts to the brush blocks is, in all essential respects, the same as that disclosed in the Young patent previously referred to with the exception of ,themanner of mounting the vertically movable guides which carry the staple and tuft to the brush block and guide the staple driving device` and in the provision of a yielding part in the connections between. the slide which carries said guides and the slide which carries the staple driving rod. The mechanism for forming the staples and feeding them to the staple driving apparatus is the same as in the aforesaid Young patent and therefore is not illustrated in the drawing. The staple driving devices comprise an upper slide E and a lower slide F, movable in guideways 10. The upper slide is connected by a link 11 to a lever 12, which is rocked by the cam wheel 6 to cause slide E to reciprocate vertically. Upon the slide E is secured a bracket arm 13, which projects laterally from the slide, and said arm carries a pivot pin 14, upon which is mounted an elbow lever 15. One arm 15a of said elbow lever carries a roller which is engaged by a stationary guide H, and the other arm 15b of said lever is pivotally connected to a cross-piece 16, which latter is rigidly connected by a pair of rods 17 to a. cross-piece 18, pivoted at 19, to the lower slide F.

A staple driving rod 2O is secured to the upper slide E and extends vertically downward in front of the slide F and between a pair of vertically movable staple guides 21. which depend from the slide F and are formed at their lower ends with a notch for straddling the wisp of fibers and also with recesses for receiving a staple.

In the Young patent, the vertically movable guides .21 are movable relatively to one :mother and to the lower slide in order that the guides may both engage a brush block arranged either horizontally or at. an angle to the line of movement of the staple guides. Springs are arranged between thc staple guides and their supporting slide, for

this purpose, and also in order that thek guides may adjust themselves to brush blocks differing in thickness. without injury to the apparatus. the travel of the lower slide in said patent heilig always the same in extent.

In the present invention, the staple guides 21 are connected to t-he slide F through a wrist-plate 1, which is shown in Figs. 4 to 6 as pivoted in an opening 22 inthe slide and has pins 23 at opposite sides of its center, which pins project into slots 24 in the staple guides. With this construction, it will be evident that in descending against a brush block, arranged at anangle to the horizontal, the staple guide which first comes in contact with the block will cause the wrist-plate to rock and quickly force the other stape guide into engagement with a pivot 25, and a stiff spring 26 bears against the lower end of said wall and holds it in normal position.

Then t-he wispr is carried by the gathering bar to a point directly beneath the stapling device, the upper slide E moves downward. During the first part of this movement the lower slide travels in fixed relation to the upper slide because the form of the slot h is such that the elbow 'lever 15 cannot rock about its axis. The staple guides place the staple over the central part of the wisp and carry it downward to the brush block,l` the end portions of the wisp being doubled upwardly around said guides, as they leave the lower wisp guides 9. About the instant when the staple guides engage a brush block of average thickness, the roller on the elbow lever 15 commences to ride out into the lower inclined portion of the guide slot h, and this permits the slide F to be arrested by the brush block while the slide E, which carries the staple driver, moves further and drives theI staple into the hole in the brush block, securing the tuft lio thereto. As the blocks are not of uniform thickness, the part L of the guideway H is made yielding so that in case the staple ,fluides are arrested by a thick block, m, Fig. 2. the outer wall of said slot will yield, as shown in said figure, and permit the elbow' lever to rock sutiiciently to compensate for the unusual thickness of the block.

Vhat I claim is:

l. In a brush-making machine, the combination with wisp gathering mechanism, of stapling mechanism comprising upper vand lower vertically movable slides, a stapledrivingV rod secured to said' upper slide, an elbow lever pivotcd on the latter Slide, a guide for one arm of said lever adapted to cause the lever to travel in fixed relation to the upper slide dui-ingr a part ot its downward movement and to cause the lever to rock about its axis near the end of its downward movement, connections between the other arm of said lever and the lower slide for moving; the latter, a wrist plate pivoted on the lower slide, and two parallel guides for said rod pivotally connected to said wrist-plate at opposite sides of its center, said latter guides having a notch for receiving a staple. v

2. In a brush-making machine, the combination with wisp gathering mechanism, of stapling mechanism comprising upper and lower vertically movable slides, a stapledriving rod secured tosaid upper slide, an elbow lever pivoted on the latter slide, a guide for one arm of said lever adapted to cause the lever to travel in fixed relation to the upper slide during a part of its downward movement and to cause the lever to rock about its axis near the end of its downward movement, said guide having a yieldin;y portion adapted to permit a further rocking' movement of the lever, connections between the other arm of said lever and the lower slide for moving the latter, and parallel guides for said rod carried by said lower Slide, said latter guides being rela tively movable and having a notch tor receiving a staple.

3. ln a brush-making machine, the combination with wisp gathering mechanism, of stapling mechanism comprising upper and lower vertically movable slides, an elbow lever pivoted on the upper slide, connections from one arm of said lever to the lower slide, a staple-driving rod secured to .the upper slide, parallel 4fuides for said rod connected to the lower slide, said latter guides being rela-tively movable and having a notch for receiving a. staple, means for causingr said lever to travel in fixed rela' tion to the upper slide during part of its downward movement and tor causing the lever to rock about its axis near the end of its movement, and yielding means for permitting a further rocking movement of the lever.

4. ln a brush-makimof machine, the combination with wisp gathering mechanism of staplimgr mechanism comprising upper and lower vertically movable slides, an-elbow lever pivo-ted on the -upper slide, connections from one arm of said lever to the lower slide, a staple-drivingy rod secured to the upper slide, parallel guides for said rod connected to the lower slide, Said latter ,guides being relatively movable. and having a notch for receiving a staple, and a slotted guide for the other arm of the lever adapted to cause t-he lever to travel in fixed relation to the upper slide during; a part of its downward movement and to cause the lever to rock about its axisnear the end of said movement, said guide having a movable spring-pressed wall adapted toyield and permit of further rocking movement of the lever.

In testimony whereof I attix my signature.

CHARLES E. FISHER. 

